Frozen Alone
by PhantomMouse1115
Summary: When a blizzard sweeps through Central, you'd think it would be wise to stay inside. But for a child prodigy, Ed isn't acting so wise at the moment. Parental Roy fic. NO SLASH! Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

**NOOOO! I started another story! All of you that read my other fics, I'm sorry that I haven't updated them in awhile, I kinda lost the files for all my DP fics in my computer somehow... I'll find them, I swear! So don't kill me!**

**Now this story is my first FMA fic, there will be more now that I am completely obsessed with it. But yeah. Its from the original 2003 anime (NOT Brotherhood) and is set in that iffy time between when Ed is twelve and when he's fifteen and Al is eleven and when he's fourteen (technically its his soul thats aging and not his body but you get the point) ... they don't exactly show that time period... this happened before Lior and Father Cornello okay, that I can tell you for sure! I don't think Scar is gonna make an appearence either, oh, and Nina's already gone, since Ed is like thirteen and a half in my fic. **

**So now, without further ado, my first attempt to write in the FMA world! (Again, no one kill me!)**

**Disclaimer: *grabs Philosopher's Stone* YES! Now I can finally own Fullmetal Alchemist! MWAHAHAAAA! *Ed walks in, grabs stone, smacks me, and leaves* Owwwwww... **

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**Chapter One**

It was cold, so cold. Snow fell from the skies in thick sheets, making it almost impossible to see anything. It blanketed the ground in hard layers, making everything freeze in its tracks and adding an air of peace through the raging storm. Everyone was inside, huddled in the warmth of their homes. The closest people got to the outside was pressing their warm faces against the cold glass and watching the individual snowflakes fall down to earth like rain. One person however, was outside, his gold eyes blinking furiously against the onslaught of snow. One automail arm and one flesh arm shoved into the pockets of his long red coat, trying to hold it close to him as he pushed onwards. He had long since given up on keeping the crimson hood up, seeing as the wind and ice pelted it backwards each time, so his braided gold hair was nearly white with flakes of snow attached to it and whipping around it. He knew very well that he of all people shouldn't be out in this weather, being as he had an automail leg and an automail arm that could freeze up (literally) at any time. Where ever the metal touched his skin, be it his shoulder or his thigh, pain so cold it burned was shooting through him, making the small teen growl in pain as he struggled to lift the hunk of metal that he called a leg and set it before him. The small alchemist could practically feel the ice crystals growing on the metal, spreading over it and patterning it like they would a window pane. He could also feel something else, something he wanted to not think about… his own blood, seeping from where the ports met flesh, trails of crimson liquid melting the ice on his arm and leg only because he was over-exerting himself, only because he was freezing to death. His teeth chattered horribly as he tried to suck in life sustaining breath, but all he got was a mouth full of inside freezing snow. It pelted down harder, faster, stronger, as if knowing the teen was in pain, as if knowing he was hurting badly.

And then with a sickening metallic crunch, and a spasm of his muscles, the automail leg gave out and died. The alchemist screamed out at the sudden pain, mentally berating himself for showing pain when he never did so before. He fell into the high snow with a thud and a flurry of feather like crystals, grabbing at his leg with both hands as he willed it to move. He pulled up his pant leg to see what had happened. The hunk of metal was – to his horror – frozen solid, ice crystals already forming in the joints as he let it sit immobile. Groaning, the teen pushed with his real leg, trying to get himself to stand even though he was practically buried in the snow.

And then, as if in sequence, his automail arm gave a tremendous jerk, sending him back into the snow as it twisted, the metal shrieked against the metal, sounding like an animal in pain. The poor boy had no control over it as it malfunctioned from all the water and snow. Soon, the arm as well froze and died, in a twisted position like he had been in the middle of raising his hand to wave.

The blond coughed, his gold eyes clouding over as he sunk deeper into the snow which continued to pile up on him. It hurt soooo much. There was no point in hauling himself up now with practically one arm and one leg. Who knew how far he was from the hotel, who knew how far he was from civilization even! Now, that was a bit much, but still. So, the boy lay quiet and immobile in the snow. Pain washed over him, freezing him, so cold it was warm. So warm, the darkness promised warmth, the darkness promised freedom… And so Edward Elric slowly let his eyes slide shut as the snow continued to pour down mercilessly.

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Morning, surprisingly it was snow free. Of course there was still snow on the ground, and of course people said that the blizzard would start back up later in the day and not stop for awhile. But still, why not go outside and enjoy the pure spectacle while you can? Those were Roy Mustang's thoughts as he pulled his large black coat on, smiling slightly to himself as he thought of the prospect of melting the snow and sending water roaring down the streets. Struggling against his door, he realized that the snow must have been much higher than he anticipated. Oh well, the Flame Alchemist shrugged, sticking one hand out the door and snapping. Instantly the snow melted to water against the blistering heat that overtook it, allowing a clean – albeit wet – path from his door and down the steps. On the sidewalks however it was still covered in crystals. Stepping quickly, Roy waded into the many feet of snow, calmly with his hands in his pockets so as not to get his special ignition gloves wet.

Until his foot struck something dreadfully hard and he was flung head first into the snow.

Growling, Roy stood back up and brushed the snow away, glaring at the Roy shaped hole now in the snow. Turning around, he spotted what he had tripped over. It seemed to be some sort of deformed rock or branch, being covered in spindly frost patterns. Stalking over to the object, Roy grabbed onto it and had all intension of pulling the rock that had gotten him wet out of the snow and tossing it far far away, at least he did until the rock would not budge. Pulling harder, he grunted slightly. How would his subordinates react when they saw that the great Flame Alchemist could barely pull a rock from snow? Oh, he would not chance it. Making sure to pull extra hard, Roy gave one last mighty heave… and toppled backwards as the huge object popped from the ground with a sickening screech.

Roy almost screeched himself once he saw what he had pulled up, a small automail arm, frozen in a position as if someone was halfway to waving, blood was caked on the area where it was supposed to connect to the port, and Mustang paled to a white that made the snow look grey. He knew whose arm it was.

"FULLMETAL!" Roy screamed, snapping his fingers quickly, he began to melt away the snow, searching for the boy he was sure was buried there. "ANSWER ME!" he continued, knowing very well that Ed would answer if he could, and if he couldn't… well, Roy just wouldn't think of that. "EDWARD!" he called out again, this time using Ed's first name instead of the official 'Fullmetal.'

Finally he found him; the poor boy was sprawled in the snow, nearly everything about him frozen. His skin was a slight blue, his lips a deep purple, and his eyes were shut tight. Roy knew he had to be completely unconscious for him not to feel his arm ripped off, but then again, the arm had to be weak and loose from the beginning for it to have been able to be ripped off without pressing the release button.

"Edward, come on, wake up Fullmetal!" Roy said, grabbing onto the boy and tilting his head upwards. He pressed his head to the boy's small chest, holding his own breath in silence as he searched for the heartbeat he sought out. He hoped, oh he hoped, that Ed wasn't dead! … There! A heartbeat, it beat slow and quiet, barely there at all. But it was there. And now that Roy looked closer, he could see Ed's chest rising and falling slowly as well. But he was still frozen. Frozen solid, bleeding, in pain.

The Flame Alchemist quickly gathered the Fullmetal Alchemist into his arms, and with one last snap, cleared a path for him to be able to rush back into his – warm – home.

The automail arm lay forgotten in the snow.

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**I'm so EVIL! MWAHHAAHAAA! Though this is a little faster than I wanted, I needed to make the chapter longer. So instead of Ed being found in chapter two I made it chapter one! The chapter is still really short though, I can't seem to write long chapters no matter how much I try... sorry for the shortness! Oh, and for all you phsycos out there, this is not a RoyxEd fic! Its a parental fic, okay! I don't do slash... EVER! So goodbye if you were hoping for that! *blech* **


	2. Chapter 2

**************Oh my gosh! Chapter two! YAY! This is where things are kinda boring yet get kinda interesting! MWAHAHAAA! I thank anyone who reviewed/faved/put an alert on this story, it means a lot to know you guys are reading and liking this! So, without further ado, chapter two (haha, that rhymed)**

**Disclaimer: I totally own FMA *gets hit with flying wrench* Okay, I don't own FMA! Owwww... why do all the disclaimers end in me getting hurt?**

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**Chapter Two**

Hazy shapes blurred in front of him, blobs of color in a colorless world. Small sounds barely broke through the muffling barrier, but as they did they magnified at least ten fold, giving Ed a horrible headache.

"Eddddwwwaarrrd...?"

It hurt, it hurt so much. Whatever was making that horrible sound had to be quiet and soon or Ed felt his head would explode.

"Ccccccaaaaaaannnnnn yyyyyyooooouuuuuu hhhhhhhheeeaaaaaaarrrrrr mmmmeee?"

Ed tried to respond with a 'Yes, for Gate's sake, now go the heck away!' but it came out smashed together with a few of the sounds dulled, like his mouth wasn't used to moving and couldn't form the words. There were more sounds, words, though this time they were softer and more as if the person was now trying to coax him to say more, or move, or something.

"Waaake up."

Well at least the sounds were getting clearer. But that didn't make them any more easier to respond to, and plus, Ed didn't want to wake up. His eyelids felt as heavy as stone, his legs even heavier. He wanted nothing more than to block out whoever was yelling at him and fall into a deep, deep sleep for a long, long time.

"G-gooooo a-awaaaaeeeyyyy…" Ed whispered, hoping his mangled words sounded something like 'Go away.' and apparently they did, for an instantly later the person stopped talking.

And Ed nearly yelped as pain shot through him and he was lifted into the air. The feeling of weightlessness wrapped around him and he kicked out in a startled motion, snapping his eyes open and blinking until the blurry shapes went away. "OW!" he tried to scream, but it came out more of an enraged screech. The person holding him tightened their grasp around his torso as the teen kicked, not noticing that he was lacking a leg or an arm.

"Fullmetal, calm down!" came the sharp command, and Ed calmed down against his will. His mind was screaming for him to keep kicking, but his body just didn't have enough energy anymore. "Good, now open your eyes." he felt himself being lowered onto something soft, something comfortable. Ed slowly opened his hazy golden eyes, blinking until he could make out the shapes and colors around him.

Colonel Mustang was standing over, a look of concern mixed with smugness on his face as he leaned over with his hands on his knees.

"GAAAH!" Ed screamed, nearly falling off the couch he had been placed on, only staying on because Roy had grabbed his left shoulder at the last second.

"I said to calm down!" Roy snapped, and Ed weakly glared at him.

"W-what t-theee heck h-happened, a-aand why are youuuu h-here?" Ed tried to growl, but it came out as a weak whimper.

"Well Fullmetal, you almost froze to death. And really, this is my home, why wouldn't I be here?" Roy asked with a smirk as he cocked one eyebrow. Ed's expression instantly melted into shock, his gold eyes widening.

And before the Colonel could react, Ed had leapt from the couch and crashed to the floor with a scream. His automail ports began to bleed slightly from the impact, and Roy quickly gathered the angry teen into his arms and set him on the couch again.

"Where the h-heck are my arm and l-leg, darn you!" Ed snapped, his left hand wrapped fearfully around his metal shoulder. He was shaking again, his body using up too much energy in moving to keep warm.

"They were frozen solid, I had to take them off." Roy replied simply, turning away from Ed and walking away with his hands in his pockets.

"W-where are you going?" Ed shouted before coughing violently at the end, he didn't hear Roy's response, but when the Flame Alchemist returned he held a steaming bowl of something.

"Here, eat this, it'll warm you up." he said, holding the bowl before the shaking boy as he helped Ed to sit up with his other hand.

Ed slowly unwrapped his left hand from his shoulder and picked up the spoon, dipping it into the crimson liquid in the bowl. Ed gave one last glare at the Colonel, still not trusting him completely, before sticking the hot spoon in his mouth and swallowing.

Both sat in silence for moment, Roy shifting nervously, Ed with his head hanging down so his bangs covered his eyes. When he looked up, he was furious.

"YOU PUT MILK IN THAT DIDN'T YOU?" Ed screeched, his voice hoarse as he leapt to his only foot again and lunged towards Mustang. Roy set the bowl down with a yelp as the teen careened into him, knocking him to the floor. Ed snarled angrily, shaking as he quickly became cold again, he leaned back and pulled his fist back, ready to punch Mustang for poisoning him with that disgusting white liquid when he suddenly didn't have the energy any more.

"Fullmetal?" Roy whispered, opening his eyes slowly as he moved his hands from his face. Ed was swaying, and before Roy could grab him he collapsed and slid away, shivering. Roy growled, slowly sitting up with a wince. He would make a note not to give Ed tomato soup with milk anymore. Carefully picking up the boy, he set him back on the couch and tossed an extra blanket over him.

Roy ran a hand through his hair, sighing. The snow storm was supposed to last all week. And the Colonel surely couldn't let Ed go out in that weather alone. That meant one week with Fullmetal, one week with an angsty teenager. Roy hoped that they didn't kill each other by the end of the week.

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**Roy learned not to give Ed milk the hard way! ^^ well, please review everyone! PLEASE! *holds up amazingly cute Al plushie* I might just give you one of these if you do!**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter is a long one (i hope) and a plot actually, not really, begins to develope! YAY! In this chapter I reveal where Al has been hiding, and then I get Winry involved as well! MWAHAA! Ed's in troooouuubbblleeeee now! ^^ **

**Ed: Give me my arm and leg back and we'll see who's in trouble!**

**Me: Uh uh Edo, is that any way to talk to the writer, knowing I currently have your life in my hands?**

**Ed: I'll kill you later...**

**Me: Suuure you will, now do the Disclaimer so I don't get hurt.**

**Ed: PhantomMouse1115 will never own Fullmetal Alchemist, if she ever gets the rights to it I will personally rip up the papers and then give her amnesia so she doesn't even know what it is.**

**Me: I didn't get hurt... but I got threatened... is that better or worse?**

**Ed: Who cares, on with the torture!**

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**Chapter Three**

"I hate you, you know that right." Ed deadpanned as he struggled against the bindings that wrapped him securely to the couch. Roy was standing there with many bruises on his arms, glaring at the boy in front of him as if willing him to burst into flames. The reason for their current predicament was that Ed had refused to eat anything, for fear that the Colonel would poison him with milk again. Roy had of course retorted with a short comment about how he might have shrunk without the automail on, and then the Fullmetal Alchemist had exploded.

"Yes I know that, you think I currently care? Now eat the darn oatmeal!" Mustang snarled, shoving the bowl forwards towards the boy. Ed's look turned murderous.

"Is this some sorta joke? How the heck am I supposed to eat that when my only arm is tied behind my back?"

_Oh._

Roy fumbled with the soft ropes for a moment before finally releasing Edward's arm. Ed grumbled slightly, reaching forwards towards the bowl…

_WHAM!_

Roy fell backwards as stars burst in his vision, slightly amazed that the young alchemist was still that strong when he was so weak. Sitting back up, the Colonel glared at the boy who was happily eating the oatmeal as if nothing had happened, all the while he rubbed his now sore face.

"I can have you court marshaled for that, Fullmetal!" He snapped angrily, very tempted to take away the food and bind Ed to the couch again as he called the Fuher to do just what he threatened.

"Don't care." Ed mumbled, "But this is good." he said, motioning with his chin towards the bowl still on the table. His only hand was occupied with the spoon, and every time the bowl shifted he had to move it back by setting the spoon down and grabbing the edge. Roy thought it must have been very tiring for just the one arm to do all the work, but after the way Ed had punched him, he wasn't going to help _at all._

Standing, Roy threw a last glance at the struggling boy before walking towards the hall, calling back over his shoulder, "What's your phone number? We should inform your brother."

"Al's not there." Ed called back, and Roy froze, his eyes widening at all the possible places the younger brother could be. Maybe the blood seal finally failed, and Ed had purposely thrown himself out into that weather? "Sent him to Risembool to stay with Winry first sign of snow. Can't risk his blood seal getting wiped off." Ed finished, and Roy took in a deep breath. He had panicked at the though of Ed being suicidal, but now he realized that that thought was ludicrous.

"What's your mechanic's number then?" he snapped back, trying to seem commanding. He remembered Winry from the time she had visited unexpectedly, _and almost got both herself and Ed killed. _The thought bubbled up before Roy could dismiss it, and he carefully shook his head to clean it of the image of the deranged lunatic that had been Barry the Butcher, and then the image of Edward crying, curled into his younger brother's arm as he spoke words much too deep to be coming from a twelve year old's mouth. Shaking his head again, Roy asked Ed to repeat the number as he picked up the phone.

"Hello, Risembool Automail Outfitters, how may we help you?" Came a female voice from the other end as the line was picked up, the connection crackling slightly as the snowstorm waged war on the power lines. But still, it seemed to be keeping together for this one phone call.

"Hello, may I speak to Alphonse Elric please?" Roy said in a calm monotone. He knew who was speaking, it was Winry, and she sounded _so much _like her mother.

"May I ask who's calling?" Winry snapped, becoming protective of her childhood friend.

"This is Lt. Colonel Mustang, I'm calling to talk to Alphonse about Fullmetal." he snapped quickly, trying to make it sound as professional as possible.

"Oh gosh, what happened to Ed? What did he do this time?" She asked quickly, and Roy could hear a small voice in the background ask, "What about Brother?"

"I really would like to talk to Alphonse." Roy tried, attempting to get the phone passed to the younger Elric, but Winry only continued to rant and ramble.

Suddenly Ed shouted from the other room, his voice loud as it carried to the hall, "If Winry won't shut up tell her she can hit me with her darn wrench as much as she wants if she lets you talk to Al!"

Roy cocked an eyebrow, his eyes widening slightly before turning back to the phone, beginning to speak only to be cut off by a "I heard him!" and then the phone was rocked and jumbled until it finally came to rest in someone else's hand.

"What happened to Brother, Colonel?" Al asked, extremely worried. His voice echoed more over the phone, and it was slightly hard to tell what he was saying.

"Don't panic Alphonse, but your brother got stuck in the snow yesterday." Roy said, trying to tone it down to stuck in the snow instead of completely buried for who knows how long.

"Is he alright? What about his arm and leg?" Al asked frantically, the phone echoing with metal clangs as the armor on the other end shook slightly from worry.

"He's fine, but I had to take off his automail because it was frozen. I was just calling to inform you of his situation." The Flame Alchemist said, trying to wrap it up quickly, hoping that Alphonse wouldn't begin to ramble like Winry had a second ago.

And then, as if on cue, there came a loud crash from the room he had left Ed in. Fearing the worst, Mustang muttered a quick farewell before slamming the phone down on its hook and racing for the room.

Almost to step on Edward, who was laying face down on the floor.

"I thought we went over this yesterday Edward, you can't exactly walk with one leg and one arm." Roy growled, angry at the boy for getting him worked up over nothing.

"I want at least my arm back you jerk." Ed snarled from his place on the wood, pushing his head to the side so he could glare up at Mustang heatedly.

"No, I think you broke it, so you're not getting it back for awhile." Mustang said quickly. In reality, he feared he had been the one to break it, wrenching it out of the port and consequentially, bending the metal that was attached to Ed.

"I didn't break it, stupid snowstorm did." Ed grumbled, begrudgingly letting Roy help him up and back to the couch.

Roy then sat in the soft chair nearby, not trusting Ed to be alone, and he thought for awhile. But mainly, he wondered why, all of a sudden, he was feeling protective towards Fullmetal. Why was he feeling, for lack of a better word, fatherly?

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**You know what to do! Just click the little button, click it! You know you want tooooooooo ^^ **

**Ed: click it and she might leave you alone.**

**Me: ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

******Fear the random filler chapter! FEAR IT I SAY! Okay, yeah, this is a heads up to say that this chapter has no significance whatsoever except for more of that one sided father son stuff. Yeah, i've kinda hit a writer's block right now, and it won't flippin MOVE! Grrrr... thats why this chapter is so small and chuncky and horrible! Blech, I hate half done jobs! Oh well, enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA... but I do own a pocketwatch! *holds up pocketwatch* Fear the PhantomMouse Alchemist!**

**Roy: *grabs pocketwatch* you're fired.**

**Me: *sob* he took my pocketwatch...**

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**Chapter Four**

"I'm bored."

"Find something to do then."

"I can't move."

"Find a way to move then."

"I'm bored."

Roy banged his forehead against the desk repeatedly, he had been trying to drone out Edward's complaints for who knew how long. But it was as if the boy's mouth was run by a never ending battery!

"Why are you bored?" Roy snapped, quickly losing his patients with the ungrateful teen.

"Because I can't move." Ed groaned, and Roy turned to watch him wistfully run a hand over the metal port on the thigh of his leg. "Feels like its still there, darn it." Ed hissed under his breath, the action causing him to let out a violent cough.

"What feels like its still there?" Roy drawled, playing dumb for a moment. He leaned his elbow on the hard wood of his desk and placed his head in his hand, staring sideways at Edward.

"My freakin' limbs! I hate phantom limb syndrome! I hate it!" Ed growled angrily, making a swatting motion with his left hand through the air where his right arm should have been. "Arrrgghh!" he growled, coughing again as he continued to wave his hand through the empty air, as if trying to convince his mind that his limbs certainly _were not there. _

"Maybe if you go to sleep it will be easier to manage." Roy suggested hopefully. If Ed went to sleep if would mean a few hours at least of blissful silence.

"No thanks, aches too much." Ed groaned.

"What aches?" Roy asked, now slightly concerned, he turned back around to face the boy, noticing how much paler he was than before.

"The evil phantom limbs and my head… throat too." Ed admitted, slouching down on the couch, hoping it would swallow him up. Why was he admitting his weakness and vulnerability to the Colonel of all people?

And then Ed blinked, Mustang was in front of him, placing a hand on his fore head before he could yelp. Ed squirmed slightly under the cold hand pressed to him, but soon Roy drew back.

"You have a fever, and probably a cold. Get some rest." he muttered, reaching down before tossing the blanket over the blond's head and pressing him forcefully down until he was flat on his back.

Ed groaned at the sudden movement of his body, blinking up at Roy. "Not tired." he muttered, before a small yawn stretched his face. Ed glared mentally at himself for betraying his lie.

"Yes you are. Go to sleep Edward. The storm should let up soon and then maybe we can call your mechanic again to get your arm and leg fixed." Roy said, hoping to spark some hope in the boy. Ed gave a sleepy smile, nodding.

"That be nice. No more imaginary limbs wavin' about. Thanks Mustang." Ed whispered, before turning his head to the side. In few moments he was asleep, small snores signaling this as the boy curled tighter into himself.

Meanwhile, Roy was frozen. Did Ed really just say Thanks? Did Edward Elric, stubborn child prodigy, Fullmetal Alchemist, just display gratitude to a Colonel he hadn't had respect for since day one? It was probably just the fever talking, and the boy was probably slightly delirious as well, he couldn't have possibly willingly thanked Roy!

Yet, here he was, smiling down on the boy as he became unfrozen. Checking the window for the storm to stop, checking Ed's fever and placing a cool cloth on his head.

"You're welcome… Edward."

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**Ha ha! Ed is sick and Winry will now attack with her wrench of DOOOOOM! MWAHAHAA! **

**Now, review! Roy says that if there are more than five reviews he'll give me my pocketwatch back! *leaps for pocketwatch***

**Roy: My, you might be even shorter than Edward, and thats nearly impossible! *dangles pocketwatch above my head***

**Me and Ed: WHO'RE YOU CALLIN SHORT?**

**Roy: both of you. **

**Me: grrr... **


	5. Chapter 5

******Really short chapter ahead! It may only be short because the next chapter is coming really soon. I'm home sick from school today so I have time to write it. ^^ Here is our first look at Winry and Al! YAY! I will not endanger Al by putting him in that snow storm, you'll see what solution I cooked up! Well, hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from FMA! *sniff* Roy still has my pocketwatch...**

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"I'm gonna kill him." Winry seethed. "If he messed up my automail again I'll hit him so hard he'll never wake up." she continued, rage flashing in her eyes as she shivered on the train seat. She had been angry ever since Al had told her that Roy had had to remove Ed's automail. Then Winry had practically dragged the younger brother to the train as she made plans to make Ed's life as painful as possible.

"Please Winry, it wasn't brother's fault!" Al tried, holding his hands up as if to calm her, she only growled harder as she shivered. It was getting colder and colder the closer they got to Central because of the snow storm. Maybe Winry shouldn't have brought Al along and left him with Pinaco.

"Like heck it wasn't his fault. He's the one running out in the snow with my good automail! I told him it was water resistant but no metal can withstand a freakin' snow storm!" Winry rambled angrily. She was going to _murder _Edward Elric…

"He's only trying Winry. He doesn't mean to get your automail damaged." Al whispered, the unspoken thought that it was actually Ed's automail. Sure, Winry had made it, but Ed had bought it, had to carry it around, had to endure the constant pain of having twenty pounds of metal attached to his body. Being in that snowstorm must have been absolutely _horrible _for his brother.

Winry watched Al's red eyes dim slightly in worry and fear. She reached over shakily and gently patted the cold armor. She knew Al couldn't feel it, but the gesture wasn't lost on his soul.

"I know you're worried about Ed, Al. I'm worried to. If you want me to, I'll only hurt him enough to get him in a hospital, not dead." Winry said, trying to make Al laugh at least. But she knew that once Al got lost in his thoughts, it was hard to pull him out.

"He must have been in so much pain." Al whispered in shaky echoing voice. "I keep telling brother that he shouldn't push too hard on himself, but he never listens." Winry sat back quietly, listening to the younger Elric's words. "He must have been so afraid…" he continued, letting his words trail into unspoken thoughts as the armor fell silent again.

"He's fine Al, I'm sure of it. Ed's just fine and as soon as we get there you'll see." The blond girl whispered, blinking with soft crystal eyes up at her childhood friend. He wasn't in the same form as he was then, but he was still Alphonse, and he still needed to be comforted when worried or afraid.

"Next stop: Central Station!" came a loud booming voice, startling Winry and Al from their thoughts and making Winry jump slightly as the attendant strolled down the aisle, shouting out the station number as he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"We're almost there Al. Hey, I have an idea." Winry said suddenly with a small snap of her fingers, "How about I climb inside of you when we get out there. I can work on keeping snow away from your blood seal and it will be easier to travel through the snow for both of us!" she finished, smiling brightly at her friend. Al pondered this for a moment, before nodding happily.

As soon as the train screeched to a halt, Winry and Al were the first ones out. They stood to the side behind a large brick wall where they couldn't be seen as Al opened his chest plate and let his friend clamber inside before shutting it again.

"I can't feel that, but its so weird!" Al said as a shudder passed through his armor. Winry nodded, glancing at the blood seal as she took her scarf and wiped the moisture off from around it.

"Alright Al, lets get going. That snow storm isn't gonna stop any time soon." Winry said from inside in a whisper so no one else could hear her. She could just imagine how broken Ed would be if someone found out that Al was an empty suit of armor and carted him away to be experimented on.

"Okay Winry." Al said, and then he stomped from the train station, the blast of freezing cold snow hitting him as soon as he took a step outside. Pushing forwards, Al waded through the feet of snow already there. And he began to make his way to his brother.

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**See, I told you Al's bloodseal would be safe! Ha ha! Now, please review, as I said before Roy is still holding my pocketwatch captive, and I might give you a plushie wrench (Winry made me do it) if you review! ^^**

Chapter Five


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this chapter took a bit longer! I've been kinda sick and didn't have as much time on my hands as I thought I did! ^^; but the chapter is up anyways! YAY! Soooo, enjoy. And yes, Al did make it though the storm alive. I'm not gonna kill any of these guys any time soon okay? So just sit back, relax, and read the chapter! **

**Now, to the Disclaimer!**

**Ed: Why do i have to do it _again_?**

**Me: Because I said so.**

**Ed: Fine, PhantomMouse1115 does not own Fullmetal Alchemist. **

**Me: Now on with the story! HOORAY!**

**Ed: I'll get you one day, mark my words...**

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Chapter Six

Roy sighed as he passed Ed again. The boy had been sleeping for hours, and Roy had enjoyed the first few of silence, but now he was quickly getting worried. Roy knew people had to sleep a lot when they were sick, but surely they didn't sleep _this _much?

Just as Roy was contemplating shaking the boy awake, a loud echoing knock shot through the house. Ed snapped his eyes open and let out a loud yelp as he rolled off the couch and onto the floor face first. "AGRH!"

"Coming!" Roy shouted as he helped Ed back onto the couch before making for the door. Who was stupid enough to go out into a snowstorm (besides Ed) and come knocking on Colonel Mustang's door?

Swinging the door open, Roy gasped as he titled his head to stare at the huge suit of armor standing there. "Alphonse…?" he whispered, wondering how the boy had made it through the snow without his blood seal draining away.

"May I come in sir?" Al asked politely, Roy was about to respond but another bang from the other room cut him off.

"AL!" Ed screamed, pulling himself forwards with one hand as he crawled slowly across the floor, he had to see if his brother was alright, had to see if anything was frozen or if any part of the blood seal needed to be renewed at all. He had to see his little brother! "Al, get over here!" Ed shouted as he pushed himself until he was kneeling on one knee, next he carefully grabbed the table edge and pulled until he was standing.

Al pushed past Roy in a frantic attempt to get at his brother, but as soon as he was in front of Ed said boy immediately began to fumble with the chest plate straps.

"What are you doing brother?" Al asked in slight confusion as he watched his brother's shaky hand grab at the straps as he simultaneously tried to hold himself upright.

"Checking your blood seal, we can't have-" but Ed was cut off as he finally managed to get the chest plate open, and then suddenly he was on the ground as Winry collided with him violently.

"Edward Elric you idiot!" Winry screamed, choking her friend as she reached for her trunk - which had tumbled out with her - and searched for her wrench.

Roy had been watching the entire time, but as soon as he saw Ed's left hand clawing at the ground as he desperately searched for air was enough to set him into action. Quickly grabbing onto Winry's arm, he gently pulled the girl off of Ed as said boy took in a shuttering breath.

"J-jeese Win, one near d-death experience is e-enough d-don't you think?" Ed gasped, pressing his left hand to his chest. It was already hard enough to breath for him since part of the automail dock was screwed into the top of his right ribcage, restricting how much air his lung could take in.

"Sorry Edward." Winry sneered, pulling away from Mustang as she brushed off her coat. "Now where is my automail? I hope it's not completely gone again!" she snapped angrily.

"No its not completely gone again. Mustang was working on unthawing it." Ed said as he jerked his chin towards the Colonel. Roy nodded and led Winry to where the automail was waiting, while Al began to though roughly check his brother and ask him what had happened.

"I just tripped in the snow Al, nothing to worry about!" Ed said, trying to wave off the question but toppling backwards into his brother as he did so. Ed tilted his head backwards, gold eyes blinking owlishly at the armor before a small smile crept onto Ed's face. "I missed you Al." he whispered.

"I missed you too brother." Al responded as he pushed on Ed's back to get the boy to a somewhat standing position. It was rather hard when Ed was lacking one leg, hopping to move and often falling over. "You still haven't told me what you were doing in that storm." Al then said as he narrowed his crimson eyes. He was grateful that his brother was okay, he was so relieved as well, yet the younger Elric was also unimaginably angry that Ed had gone out into that weather knowing very well what it could do to his automail.

"I was just walking back to the hotel, and the storm hit." Ed said with a one armed shrug as he stumbled back onto the couch. "Mustang found me, called you, and here we are."

Al watched his brother slowly, his eyes drifting to the place where his other limbs _should _have been. He felt his soul curl in anger at the missing appendages and all the pain the metal ones caused his older brother. He had only gotten the metal limbs for Al, he had only done all this for Al, and Al could do what seemed like nothing in return.

"Brother, are you hungry?" Al said quickly, hoping to do at least something. Ed let out a hacking cough in surprise before nodding slowly as he rubbed his throat. Al's helmet bobbed as he walked from the room.

Only to rush back in again as there was a loud band and a scream of pain.

Winry was standing over head, the mangled automail arm held high above her as if she had just finished hitting a baseball that was pitched at her. Ed was on the floor, his limbs twitching as he groaned and rubbed his head slowly with his left hand.

"You said it was intact, does this look intact?" Winry screamed, shoving the automail into Ed's face as he tried to pull himself at least into a sitting position by the edge of the couch. Everyone got a full view of the arm as Winry waved it about, and she clutched the leg at her side.

The metal of the arm was cracked in some places where the water and ice had been able to get in. Watermarks dappled the sides and the hand was frozen in a sickening crawling motion. The worst however was the part that connected to the port, the edges of the metal were frayed out and ripped, as if someone had smashed it into the ground and pushed until it was flat. Wires were torn and many were hanging limply on for life as it was swung in the air. But that all wasn't what made Al freeze, it was the blood around the edges, and the guilty look that Mustang wore as he watched from the corner.

Al slowly inched over to the Colonel, watching how the man's wide black eyes swung up to meet his red ones as he lowered down closer.

"My brother's arm didn't get that way on its own did it?" Al asked sadly, the Colonel shook his head.

"It was frozen and broken already, and then I accidently pulled it out. I also think I torched it and the leg too much when unthawing them." Roy whispered, "But the blood wasn't my fault!" he said suddenly, holding his hands up with his palms out to the armor. Al only nodded, turning back to watch Ed and Winry bicker.

"You broke his arm, and then took him in and healed him." The boy whispered, "Equivalent Exchange I guess, don't you think Colonel?"

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**MWAHAHAAHAHAA! I like the last line a lot, i really do! And I made Al say it, HA HA! Now for the Roy guilt trip, hehhehehee *rubs hands together evilly* Oh, and just to clear things up, the snow storm is STILL out there because I still need it for later! Yep... so now I guess for this chapter the only thing left is for all you readers to REVIEW! NNNNNNNOOOOOWWWWWW! Or I'll sic... uhh... Envy on you! Yeah, he's not in this story so he's expendable!**

**Envy: What you say midgit? **

**Me: Hhhheeeeyyyyy! :(**

**Envy: I'm not anybody's attack dog!**

**Me: But can't you morph into a dog anyways?**

**Envy: Y-yeah! So what! Grrrr... Just review you readers. I dont even know why you read this junk.**

**Me: SHUT UP ENVY! *whacks Envy in the head* I knew I never should have brought him in... *sigh* please review anyways?**


	7. Chapter 7

******Hiya everyone! Its me again with another chapter here! Yay! So, I hope you all enjoy it okay? I'm really torturing Roy in this one, MWAHAHAHAHAA! **

**Roy: If you weren't the author I would burn you.**

**Me: But I am the author so you can't do that! *sticks out tongue at angry Roy***

**Roy: I'll torch your computer later.**

**Me: Whaaaaaaaaat? NOOO! *attacks Roy***

**Ed: Well, PhantomMouse and Roy are kinda busy *flinches at crash in the background* So I guess I gotta do the disclaimer again... urg. PhantomMouse1115 does not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I don't even think she own's this plotline, the tiny voice in her head telling her what to do does.**

**Me: You weren't supposed to tell anyone that! Now I gotta kill you too! *lunges at Ed***

**Ed: HELP! AHhh-**

***silence***

******

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**

**Chapter Seven**

"You ready Ed?"

A day later found everyone back in the living room, a newly repaired set of automail limbs lying on the hard coffee table as Ed sat on the couch. His automail ports were exposed, and Winry had had to thoroughly (and painfully) clean them of all rust before getting ready for the docking procedure.

"S-sure." Ed choked out, sounding a lot less confident than he wanted to be. Winry turned her blue eyes from him to Al, motioning for the armor to choose a limb.

"You've seen how me and Grandma do it, right Al?" Winry asked, trying to ignore the Colonel as he peered childishly over her shoulder.

Al nodded, slowly picking up the leg and positioning it at the port. Ed glanced down to his limbs, already growing slightly pale.

"Ready…. One, two, THREE!"

Immediately both Winry and Al turned the latches on the mechanics at exactly the same time. Ed threw his head back, letting out a strangled cough before clenching his teeth together and his eyes shut. Roy watched, his black eyes trying to remain impassive as he viewed the scene, but truly he was horrified. Did reattaching automail really hurt that much? And how much had it hurt during the original surgery to get the port and dock on?

"Colonel, we need help!" Al yelped suddenly, shacking Roy from his musings. Both Al and Winry were attempting to lay Ed down on the couch, they were having a difficult time however because of how Ed's body was shaking dangerously. Roy immediately began to lower the boy down, snatching an extra one of Winry's rags from the table and pressing it to Ed's head. It may not have been filled with ice or anything, but the warm cloth itself was much cooler than Ed's forehead right now.

"Does attaching automail really hurt this much?" Roy asked, watching as Ed's face twitched and contorted in pain.

Winry followed his gaze, her usually bright fiery blue eyes sad as she watched her childhood friend sweat out the pain and sickness, "Yes… it always does. My grandma said that everyone she's seen and helped screamed like babies. Ed's the only one who hasn't screamed at all."

Roy nodded, slowly taking in the information. He remembered seeing Ed as a simple eleven year old, limp and limbless as he cried out in his pain induced sleep. Surely, Ed had to have screamed once when he was young… right?

"He… never screamed… even during the initial operation?" Roy asked past a strange, lump in his throat.

"No."

That one word stabbed a tendril of respect and protectiveness deep into Roy's heart.

"Owwww…."

Roy, Winry, and Al instantly glanced over to Ed. The blond had brought his flesh hand up to rub at his throat, his automail hand now resting against his forehead and pushing the rag away. "Its really hot in here you guys, seriously." Ed said, his tone a mixture of an angry snap and a groan.

"You probably have a fever, you're still not completely recovered from that cold you caught out in the snow." Roy said quickly, standing up to go find some more blankets to heap on Ed. When he returned and did just that Ed had struggled against the blankets like they were smothering him.

"Gah! Gettem' off!" Ed gasped, and Al had helped pull the cloth from his face with a small grumble from Ed. "Even after you help you still try to kill me." Ed shot at Roy. Roy only cocked an eyebrow at the teen.

The group sat in silence for a few moments, Ed's raspy breathing the only thing sound as he experimented with his arm and leg from his position on the couch. Slowly, Al was the one who broke the silence with his childlike voice.

"So brother… you never did tell us why you were out in that snowstorm." Al said with worry, his red eyes flickering to the raging white outside the windows.

Ed blinked, his attention pulled from his automail to Winry and Roy's curious and concerned faces. He was sure if Al had had his body he would have had an even more concerned expression then them both combined.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ed suddenly said, a huge smile splitting his face. "Yeah, I was in that storm because of a lead I got on the Stone! Someone just dropped a big pack of papers into my military mailbox, so I had to go search." Ed said, smiling at his brother, "As soon as this stupid snowstorm stops, we can search together Al!" he said, all the while keeping the most hopeful smile anyone had ever seen on his face. Al laughed and nodded, still worried because of Ed's recklessness, but happy they had gotten a lead again. Winry smiled as well, placing a thin hand on Ed's shoulder before smacking him upside the head. Ed groaned slightly, but still smiled.

And it was that smile that made Roy Mustang pale to the color of crisp paper.

No… No, no, no, NO! That lead, the lead Ed had gotten in his mailbox. It had been a prank! A prank that Roy had set up a few weeks ago to get revenge on Fullmetal for humiliating him again, but in a last moment's change of heart Roy had decided not to do it. Somehow Ed had gotten the papers - why Roy had not torched them earlier he would never know - and then he had gone out in the snow in search of a lead that didn't exist! It was Roy's fault, everything. He had almost killed Edward Elric.

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**Yep! Chapter seven done and I still hope I'm keeping everyone in character! I really get kinda annoyed at those fics were Ed or Roy are so OOC, its just degrading to their character. So, please review! I don't think I'm gonna threaten anything or anyone this time, because I'm the only one that gets hurt in the end. **

**Envy: got that right.**

**Me: How'd you get here? I thought I locked you up!**

**Envy: Those rusty chains you put on me? They were _soooo _flimsy...**

**Me: *gulp* ummm... Review everyone! PLEASE? *inches away from Envy***

**Envy: MWAHAHAHAAAA!**


	8. Chapter 8

**No killing me for this chapter, PLEASE! Its all the plot bunny's fault, ALL OF IT! I REGRET NOTHING! (just don't kill me)**

**Ed: If they don't kill you, I WILL.**

**Me: AAAAAHHHHHH! *runs in terror***

**Al: Brother, stop it! *sigh* PhantomMouse1115 does not own Fullmetal Alchemist... Brother you put down that sword!**

**Me: HHHHEEEEEELLLLLPPPPPPPP!**

**Al: Well, the show must go on, or fanfic I guess...**

******

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**

**Chapter Eight**

"Are you alright Colonel?" Al asked slowly, his red eyes drifting from his smiling brother as he caught sight of the man's abnormally pale face. Ed and Winry both looked as well, Winry watching with skeptical eyes as Ed cocked an eyebrow with a weak smirk.

"What? You afraid after we get the stone you'll lose your favorite victim?" Ed sneered as he loosely crossed his arms, letting out a cough as he did.

"No." Roy whispered in a slightly broken voice, letting his head fall into his hands as his fingers fisted into his own dark hair. "That lead… Fullmetal, its not a real lead." he said, hoping that it would be better to get this over with quickly than beat around the bush.

Ed's face instantly fell into a hard glare, "If you're trying to be funny, stop." he said quickly. Roy only shook his head harder, his face hidden.

"It was a joke, but I didn't follow through with it. Somehow it must have gotten into your hands. No matter what though, its not a real lead." Roy explained, finally looking up to reveal pale black eyes practically pleading for forgiveness.

Forgiveness Ed could not give him.

For a moment, the boy simply sat there, not wanting to believe what Roy had just told him. Al had let out an echoing gasp, Winry's eyes narrowing to fine silver slits of rage, while Ed simply sat like a fish out of water, eyes hollow as he tried to form words.

And then, before anyone could react at all, Ed had moved with inhuman speed and grabbed the front of Roy's white dress shirt with his flesh hand, the automail arm pulled back like an angry snake poised to strike.

"YOU JERK!" Ed screamed, thrashing Roy back and forth with his flesh hand, he continued to move his automail as if to hit the man, but never did, "You think you can play with our lives like that? Think you can take our mistake and rub it in our faces over and over and over again?" Ed's eyes were no longer their normal gold, but a fiery yellow burning with more rage than Roy had ever seen in one small boy. "STOP JERKING ME AROUND!" Ed screamed, finally following through and aiming for a solid punch to the older alchemist's jaw line. Roy shut his terror filled eyes, bracing himself for the impact of the metal on his skin, the break of bone and the scream of pain he knew he would not be able to hold back, but it never came.

Slowly opening his eyes, Roy watched as Al slowly uncurled his older brother's hand from the Colonel's shirt, the other leather gauntlet tightly squeezing the thin automail wrist. Winry was standing in the background, threateningly thumping her wrench against her hand as her concerned expression flashed from Ed and Al before morphing into anger at seeing Roy. Scrambling backwards and standing, Roy blinked at the brothers for a moment, hoping that neither Ed or Winry would attack him (he didn't have to worry about Al.)

"Brother, stop." Al said simply, his tone of voice final and commanding, his other gauntlet grabbed onto the thin flesh wrist, holding his brother like he was shackled to a wall. Ed only thrashed, looking like a caged animal as he snapped viciously at Mustang.

"You can't be defending him Al? How could you! After he does something like THIS, you still defend him?" Ed shrieked, his gold eyes molten as he glared at each and every one of them.

Finally, Winry stood up, walking between a frozen Roy and angry brothers, as if acting the peace keeper. She glared at each one in turn, the wrench still held threateningly in her hands as everyone quieted.

And then in a flurry of metal, both Ed and Roy were on the ground groaning, both nursing large bumps on their heads as Winry threw an evil yet victorious smile at Al. Al only watched with shocked red eyes.

"That's it!" Ed suddenly shouted, lurching himself off the ground and staggering quickly away from them all, "I'm leaving!" he snapped, eyes flickering everywhere in search of his red coat. Finally finding it, Ed pulled it over himself - ignoring the fact that all he had on was his black tank top and blue boxers - before racing towards the door without even a glance towards the weather outside.

"Brother!" Al cried, trying to dive forwards to stop the fleeing boy.

"Fullmetal STOP!" Roy screamed as well, pulling himself off the floor. He desperately wanted to explain, desperately wanted to apologize, and the broken look Ed gave him as he held his hand on the door handle made him want to apologize even more.

"You can't control me Colonel." Ed hissed, "I used to respect you, before I found out how much of a jerk you really are."

Then with a single slam, and a whirl of snowflakes, Ed had ran back out into the snowstorm that had nearly killed him days before.

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***hides behind large transmuted wall* Review? Maybe? Please? Oh, any and all flames will be used to roast yummy marshmellows! ^^ but reviews will be used to fuel this fanfic idea! HA! Isn't that SOOOOO much better than marshmellows?**


	9. Chapter 9

******Short chapter ahead, kinda a filler since I have MAJOR writers block. That stuff attacks me constantly, I HATE IT! Not to mention school work and Halloween coming around. I'm bein Edo for Halloween! Hooray! And I haven't had any time to write because I'm making the costume and stuffs. Ahh... I'm just making excuses now, please no flames? **

******Roy: Maybe...**

******Ed: Doooo itttt... :3**

******Roy: Fine. *snap***

******Me: AAAGGGHHHHH! RUN AWAYYYY! **

******Ed: PhantomMouse1115 does not own Fullmetal Alchemist! Yay for us!**

******

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**

**Chapter Nine**

Ed trudged forwards in the snow, his face set in anger as he pushed onwards. He was determined to make it to the hotel, he couldn't go back to Roy's house, he couldn't face that evil lying jerk again.

The snow whipped painfully against his face, and maybe in retrospect he should have grabbed his shoes at least. Well, at least it wasn't as bad as that first night, that night when Ed had almost frozen to death only to be found by the Colonel. Snarling at that thought, Ed ignored the pain spiking up his only feeling foot and continued onwards, only stopping as he sunk into the snow in a few places so he could pull himself out.

At one point, he stumbled violently. His automail hadn't given out yet, but the pain from the fall had shot up him as if it had. He moved his limbs in a small test to see if they were still working, smiling as the metal obeyed his command. His flesh limbs however were freezing, not an ounce of feeling left in them. Ed shut his eyes to collect himself before using his automail to work his way up again.

He continued marching

* * *

"We have to find him!" Al shouted in fear as he raced for the door his brother had just left through not moments before. He grabbed the door knob with one hand, ready to pull open the door and go out into the snow after his brother.

"Al stop!" Winry cried, lurching forwards and latching onto his metallic wrist. Al turned towards her slowly, only to see her head turned down as she trembled. "I can't lose you too." she whispered.

"But brother's out there!" Al shouted, his voice thick with unseen tears.

"I'll find him."

Both turned towards the Colonel, Al instantly hopeful as Winry glared at him. "Will you Colonel?" Al asked quickly as he watched the man leave the room only to return with a thick coat.

"It's my fault. I'll fix it." Roy whispered, an empty look in his eyes as he turned towards the door. "I'll find Edward." he added, before stepping out into the snow.

Instantly the wind hit him, pushing against his once warm coat and pressing snow to his face. Roy growled slightly at the onslaught of snow, walking forwards and nearly tripping down the front steps as he followed Ed's winding path. The small trench was nearly filled with snow already. Leave it to Edward to storm off in the middle of a blizzard. At least it wasn't as bad as it was the year before.

Following the footprints, Roy didn't dare bring his gloves out from his pockets for fear they would get wet and he wouldn't be able to use them later on. If he needed them, like to thaw out Ed or create a way to get out of the snow, and they were useless, then they were both dead.

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**Can you see my writing skill decreasing? Can you tell from this chapter that my brain is rotting and I has no inspiration AT ALL? ARG! WWWWHHHYYYYY? **


	10. Chapter 10

**Huh? What's this, another chapter of Frozen Alone! Why oh my goodness, I finally remembered to update one of my stories! YAY! I'm trying and failing to find inspiration for my DP ones, so sorry! They'll probably be on Hiatus for a little longer (until I get back into the DP fandom universe, I constantly switch my fandoms, heheh) But onto the story right here. This is actually _supposed _to be the last chapter, but I'm also going to do an Epilogue (never done one of those before, hmmm) Just a head's up, the Epilogue will have MAJOR spoilers for the end of the anime (not Brotherhood, the first one) so you don't have to read it if you don't want anything spoiled for ya. Now, because I just love ticing Edo off, I'm gonna shove the little midget on screen and make him do the Disclaimer AGAIN (because I'm insane and thats just what I do... yup, I talk to fictional characters. Mwahaha)**

**Ed: MIDGET?**

**Me: JUST DO THE DISCLAIMER!**

**Ed: NNNEEEVVVVEEEEERRRR!**

**?: PhantomMouse1115 does not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

**Me and Ed: ... who are you?**

**?: I'm ?, don't you see, right there to the left? It says my name.**

**Me: oh... I probably don't own you either then, right?**

**?: Right, along with the FMA world.**

**Me: ... darn it.**

**

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**

Chapter Ten

Mustang struggled onwards, long since giving up the act of holding his coat around him, simply letting it be torn around in the wind as it clung to his arms. He was cold, yes, yet he had no right to complain since Edward was probably _much _colder than he.

"EDWARD! DARNIT FULLMETAL! ANSWER ME!" he roared into the wind once again, as he had been screaming for who knew how long. Mustang probably had not even made it fully down the streets, yet the snow was blinding. It usually didn't snow this much in Central, it barely snowed at all asides from the occasional blizzard. An alchemist had to be behind this, and once the Colonel found Ed and made sure he was safe he'd kill the jerk who thought it'd be fun to bury the city in frozen rain.

"EDWARD!" Then he got an answer, finally, he got an answer. It wasn't necessarily directed to the Colonel himself, but it was enough to direct him towards the small figure limping through the snow.

"The Stone!" Ed stuttered, over and over again as he reached out his left hand. His right arm had long since been immobile, yet whether it was a good thing or a bad thing his automail leg seemed to be holding up this time.

Roy struggled towards him as he froze in a moment of motionlessness. The Colonel reached out one hand, grasping onto the thin shoulder and turning the boy towards him. He was not at all surprised to see the flushed face and fever glazed eyes bouncing back and forth.

"Y-you weren't lying! S-stone, the S-tone! R-r-right thereeeeee!" Ed wailed, struggling weakly against the man's tight grip on his shoulder. His hair had come loose from its braid, dragging into his face and blinding him anytime the boy turned against the wind – which Mustang was currently doing.

"Edward! Stop it!" Mustang snapped, worried, so very worried for the teen. He knew it was only the fever talking, but for the Colonel – who was completely sane at the moment – it only served to drive more guilt into his heart.

"Nonononono! G-gotta sav-v-e Aaalllll!"

Then with a twist, Ed pulled away from Roy, only to disappear into the snow as he collapsed to his knees. If the situation wasn't so perilous, Mustang would be making a joke about how short Ed was, so short he could get lost in a few feet of snow, but currently he was thinking about how Ed _could _get lost and buried.

The Colonel fished through the snow, finding the teen once more and pulling him up by an arm. He pulled his other hand from his pocket, snapping his fingers once before the snow could moisten them and creating a bubble of heat around the two.

"Whadya doin? I g-gotta get the S-stone! Lemme go!"

"Ed, stop it. There is no Stone, that was a lie, that is your fever making you hallucinate." Roy said firmly, pulling up his mask to hide his thoughts and emotions like he had done so many times during the Ishval war.

Yet the way Edward looked at him, finally looking like the child he truly was with such disappointment and broken hope, it shattered his mask in a heartbeat.

"Y-you lied?"

"Yes Edward, I lied."

"W-w-why would you dooo that? Al w-ouldn't do that, I w-wouldn't do that…. Whyyyy?"

"Because I was being stupid, and I hurt you." Roy whispered, turning his attention back to the snow as he snapped his fingers quickly. The snow before the two melted to nothing but running water, and Mustang somehow managed to pick Ed's form up bridal style and walk forwards in the direction he had come.

The Colonel would glance down at Edward every few seconds, as if making sure he would not suddenly die in his arms. The boy seemed almost asleep, small whimpers of pain – something Ed would never let out if he was conscious and not fever ridden – escaping him every few moments as he turned golden eyes to the black eyes above him as well.

"I'm sorry Edward, I'm so sorry." Mustang whispered, his voice breaking as well from the cold and other emotions he had tried and failed to keep hidden.

"I forgive you."

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**My bad attempt to add some more parental fluff into the story! YAY! Wait, thats nothing to celebrate, (changes YAY to ARG) there we go! You know the drill peoples, you read, you review, and then you read some more! XD Thank you all for staying with me! Through all the delays, writing style changes, and my pure insanity! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH (especially reviews. Now review again! YAY) **


	11. Epilogue

**The epilogue isn't that long, sorry everyone! It takes place near the end of the anime so it contians LOTS OF SPOILERS if you have not seen it. its not a spoiler for the movie, but before that when Ed and Al are running from the military and everything! Thank you all who reviewed and faved this story! I hada fun time writing this and I'm glad you had a fun time reading it! In honor of the ending of this fic, I will do the disclaimer myself this time without getting injured! HAZA!**

**I, PhantomMouse1115, do not own Fullmetal Alchemist... sadly... I WANT IT!**

**

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****Epilogue**

"Now why did you run off without asking for my help first?"

Edward glared at the Colonel, ignoring the question as burning gold eyes burned into black. The older Elric was standing protectively in front of his suit of armor brother, a wall of rock behind their backs and blocking their only escape.

Mustang stood before them, along with a few of his subordinates such as Hawkeye. Havoc and Feury had been grazed by a bullet that had ricocheted off Edward's hand, so they were recovering. Mustang had also been grazed by a bullet, not an actual bullet, but one that struck him down anyways. Edward had said he had forgiven him, had told him he trusted him, then why did he run off?

_A little boy, slumped in the white snow. He wailed frantically, clawing with one hand through the ice for his brother and a stone which was not there. _

Edward only glared harder as the obsidian eyes soften slightly, mixing from determination and anger to simple disbelief, yet the Colonel's face stayed set in stone with an infuriated frown. Ed too harbored a bit of guilt. He remembered that he had trusted the man before him with his life, and he had told the same man that he would trust him with anything. Yet, he never told him about what happened in Liore, never told him about his younger brother becoming the Philosopher's Stone; he had never had the time to.

_A tall man struggled through the whiteness, screaming a name over and over again with worry that only a parent held for their child._

"Answer me Fullmetal!"

Ed did not answer, simply turning away as his golden eyed mask of anger and fury fell. It was replaced with guilt, and nostalgia. He wished everything could go back to that time, way when he was just newly in the military, before he knew of the secret ingredient and the pain that came with the Philosopher's Stone.

The same stone that he had reached through, all those years ago as he foolishly ran out into the snow.

_Gold eyes meeting his. _

Roy tried not to let his mask fall as he glared right into Edward's gold eyes.

_Black eyes staring straight at him. _

Edward never faltered, though inside the ice was breaking away bit by bit as he glared into the eyes of the man he held so much respect for.

_"I'm sorry Edward, I'm so sorry."_

_"I forgive you."_

Silence reigned the small mountain clearing. The first snowflake of the season fell, beautiful patterns branching across it; though winter was not due to begin for another month, it spiraled down to the ground between them anyways.

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**Tis over! **

**Read and review everybody! Read and review!**


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